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Karl Koenig
Generaloberst Karl Koenig was a Heer officer in the Afrika Korps who was also involved in a variety of war crimes. He was nicknamed "The Butcher." He arrived in Africa and was placed under the protection of Hauptmann Hans Dietrich, who was to take him to a villa at Koorlea to be with his wife and children. When Dietrich left their encampment at one point on an errand that kept him away all night, his men captured two American soldiers in his absence, and he ordered a reluctant Leutnant Sturm to have the two prisoners strung from a tree branch overnight, to "loosen their tongues," as he put it. The next morning, as Koenig calmly ate breakfast, he asked Sturm how the two prisoners were doing and whether they were ready to talk. Sturm responded bluntly that they'd died of exposure in the night. The Generaloberst went about calmly eating his meal as if made no difference to him. When Dietrich returned, he angrily ordered the bodies cut down, but swallowed his disgust with Koenig and continued to fulfill his mission to escort and protect his superior. When it turned out that one of the Germans' Arab servants was a spy for the Allies and had radioed them about Koenig's arrival, Dietrich caught him, and Koenig tortured him and hanged him by his ankles from the same tree branch he'd hanged the Americans on earlier. But the damage had been done and now the Allies knew of Koenig's presence in the region, and that he was going to Koorlea. Captain Boggs assigned Sergeant Sam Troy of the Rat Patrol to escort British sniper Corporal Freebairn to Koorlea so he could kill Koenig. Initially, Troy cooperated. He was eager to see Koenig get what he deserved, particularly when the Rats drove into the Germans' by then vacated encampment and found the dead servant still hanging from the tree. Evidently, Koenig had forbidden anyone from removing it. The Rats cut him down, though. After a shootout with Sturm and his men, which Sturm survived, the Rats and Freebairn pushed on to Koorlea, where Freebairn was to make a highly difficult snipe from a long distance and kill Koenig as he sat down to breakfast at the villa. Sturm had survived the battle with the Rats and warned Dietrich that they were coming. Security at the villa was increased as a consequence, but initially this didn't seem like it would prove a problem, as it was intended that Freebairn kill the war criminal from a distance. However, when Troy saw that Koenig was sitting down to breakfast with his wife and children, Troy considered cancelling the mission over Freebairn's objections. Troy didn't want Freebairn to shoot Koenig in front of his children. Regardless of their father's crimes, the children were innocent. Eventually, though, the two reached a compromise. With Freebairn covering them, Troy and Hitchcock broke into the villa and persuaded Koenig to come with him at gunpoint. Koenig smugly thought he'd be rescued by Dietrich, and so he cooperated and accompanied them. Despite efforts by Dietrich to thwart the kidnapping, the Rats managed to get Koenig back to headquarters so he could stand trial for his crimes. His fate after this is unknown. Awards *Iron Cross 1st Class *General Assault Badge *Wound Badge (Black) *SA Sports Badge *Wehrmacht Long Service Award *Sudetenland Medal *Afrika Cuff Title Notes *Although Koenig is said to have been involved in concentration camps, this is unlikely given his membership in the Heer instead of the SS. Gallery gen_koenig1.jpg| gen_koenig2.jpg| gen_koenig4.jpg| Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl Koenig, Karl